Immediately after seeing my very first Nutcracker, I told my parents that I would need to be getting into ballet classes soon because I was going to be Clara in The Nutcracker some day. My parents thought it was just a lark...

Here it is a million years later, and sure enough, I was Clara along with many other roles, and The Nutcracker remains to this day as one of my favorites. Gerard's version is hands down, my favorite version, too!

Darielle Eberhard, Academy Instructor, Nutcracker children's rehearsal director, daughter of Daryl Kamer

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When I was in the sixth grade in a rural Pennsylvania community, my piano teacher took all of her students to Johnstown (the closest "big town") to see The Nutcracker--complete with a symphony orchestra! This was my first and only experience with dance for many years, and I'm sorry to not even recall what company performed. In later years, as a piano major at Shenandoah Conservatory of Music, I experienced more performing arts than at any time in my youth. Although my background and college education are steeped in music, I now find personal and professional gratification working to support the art form of dance, especially with such an outstanding organization as BalletMet.

Barbara Gagliardo, Grants Director

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The most unusual Mother Ginger-ish scene I experienced was Kirk Peterson's An American Nutcracker in Hartford, Connecticut with the Hartford Ballet--Mother Ginger was the Queen Bee sitting atop of her hive in which the little bees came out of to dance with the butterflies and mushrooms. A spider descended from the ceiling to scare the little bees. Gabriele, my now 20-year-old daughter, was dancing the role (7 years old) as one of the bees that gets left behind. She was supposed to slap the spider and sting him to scare him away. She really did slap him as hard as she could which surprised the spider big time! The audience loved it!

Ambre Emory-Maier, Director of Education

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The year we re-made Mother Ginger, I was in charge of building her enormous skirt. I was in a quandary about how to hem it, since it was large and difficult to move. I decided that the best way was to put it on a dress form, sit underneath it with a box of pins and a flashlight, and hem it from underneath. So there I sat, and all the sudden I hear a screech, followed by laughter. Apparently my feet were sticking out from underneath the dress in a way reminiscent of the Wicked Witch of the West. A coworker had walked in the room, spotted my legs, and had quite a shock. She took a picture to commemorate the event, which I still have hanging by my desk.

Erin Rollins, Costume Shop Assistant Manager, Wardrobe Assistant

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My first Nutcracker was in Cuba and was very important to me, because for the first time the government allowed the ballet company to do this production. I was 18, and I got the opportunity to do the role of Sugar Plum and the Arabian Dance, I enjoy so much. I had a very funny moment in Sugar Plum—the elastic on the shoulder of my tutu broke while I was dancing the adagio and my Cavalier took a flower and put it on my chest to cover me. I love to do now BalletMet’s version because everything is new for me. I love the costumes—they are elegant and prettier than I’ve ever seen. Also the choreography is very fun and enjoyable.

Zoica Tovar, Company dancer

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I have a lot of great Nutcracker memories but there is one that stands out in my mind because it was something that was done every show for years. Right before the second act was about to start, those of us who were in the first number would gather in a circle and say a little prayer to ask God to give us a great second half of the show. I always looked forward to it because it was with my friends, many of whom were like family to me. It was just something that made us all feel good and brought us together as dancers and friends.

Rebecca Zinsmeister, Development Intern

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My first experience with the live performance of The Nutcracker was in 1992. My then-boyfriend (now spouse) brought me to the performance as a Hanukkah gift . We sat in the Loge, and felt the magic of the music and dancing and costumes and story.

Nine years later, we brought our eldest daughter to the performance as her Hanukkah gift. She was 6 and we thought having her see live dance would be a treat she would always remember. From the moment the curtain opened, she sat on the edge of her seat, and sat mesmerized. At the end of the performance, she said, "In a few years, I will dance on that stage for you." David and I both smiled at her dream of dancing with sugar plums and flowers.

When Charlotte turned 9, she had been taking classes at BalletMet for a year. She insisted on trying out for The Nutcracker. We were not prepared for the letter that came in the mail. She was to be dancing the youngest of the party girls and an angel. That first dress rehearsal at the Ohio Theatre, I remember being ready to run on stage if my child started to get scared or cry.  Instead, I cried so much that another parent had to get me tissues. My child was so happy, and not only was dancing steps, she was performing. She was performing, with a professional company, on the very stage she insisted she would dance on three years earlier.

That same winter, my father attended his first live dance performance. We’ve invited friends, neighbors, family, and teachers to join us. Having attended six seasons of BalletMet's Nutcracker, my family considers it a winter tradition. It wouldn’t feel like Hanukkah without it.

Michelle Bucy, Administrative Assistant, Academy parent

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When I was 16, my best friend and I bought tickets to a performance of The Nutcracker by a ballet company that was touring in Cleveland. It would be our first trip downtown (which was about a half-hour from my rural hometown) without our parents. We bought new dresses and ate at a nice restaurant downtown before the show. I still remember walking down the street to the Palace Theatre with the marquee glittering in the distance. I felt glamorous and grown-up; it was my first big girls' night out.

Alana Manwaring, Marketing Assistant

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The dancers hold a Secret Santa exchange during Nutcracker every year. One year, a rumor circulated that Adrienne Benz had received a cute little stuffed animal, but that it had disappeared a few days later and she was quite distressed. Later that week, a ransom note arrived in her dressing room with a picture of her little animal sitting in a certain location within the theatre. Off she went to find the spot, only to find another gift waiting for her, but no stuffed animal. This ritual was repeated several more times. Then one day I was leaving the Wardrobe Room, and discovered Adam Hundt standing outside the door. He had a set a small stuffed animal on the stairs, taken its picture with a Polaroid, and then set a little gift where the animal had been. Off he walked. A few minutes later, here came Adrienne, running at breakneck pace. She slowed as she reached the stairs, seeing that her precious animal was not there. You could tell she was enjoying the game, but was frustrated that her adversary remained unbeaten. I think Adam did eventually reveal himself and return the original gift.

Erin Rollins, Costume Shop Assistant Manager, Wardrobe Assistant

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I wanted to share a story about Erika during her dress rehearsal her first year in the Nutcracker. She was 7 years old and auditioned for the gymnast roll to perform as one of Mother Ginger's children. She was the last one to come out from Mother Ginger's skirt. All the children appeared and it was Erika's turn to make her grand entrance. She didn't come out and didn't come out, so Mr Charles stops the music/rehearsal and with his accent says: "Erika, love, are you ever going to come out?" as he is lifting up Mother Ginger's skirt you hear this faint voice in the distance yell, "I am stuck." Her hat was stuck on Mother Ginger's dress and she was having a hard time getting up the ramp. So a decision was made for all the Mother Ginger kids to not wear hats and the ramp was removed. From then on for the next four years she was worried about getting stuck under Mother Ginger's dress.